Recruiting Gaining Momentum

TALLAHASSEE — Greg Reid was one of the best cornerback prospects in the nation a season ago and was mostly undecided where he'd play college football, he said, until Jimbo Fisher came to his house.

After that visit, Reid said he knew he was bound for Florida State.

"It's hard to say no to him," Reid said of Fisher, the Seminoles' offensive coordinator and soon-to-be head coach. "So that's one thing I like about him. He told me everything was going to change around - everything was going to build back up."

Fisher, Florida State's offensive coordinator since 2007, will become the Seminoles head coach after Bobby Bowden coaches his final game Jan. 1 in the Gator Bowl. Bowden announced that would be his final game earlier this month, and between then and now Fisher and what's left of the Seminoles' coaching staff have succeeded in rebuilding what had been a disappointing recruiting class.

Since Bowden announced he will retire, the Seminoles' recruiting class, which had been ranked outside the top 25 in the nation by most recruiting analysts, has become one of the best in the country. Three members of the Class of 2010 have recently committed to FSU. Two of those, Treasure Coast linebacker Jeff Luc and St. Thomas Aquinas cornerback Lamarcus Joyner, are ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 1 prospects in the nation at their positions.

Coaches are prohibited by NCAA rules from commenting on recruits until they sign letters-of-intent, but Fisher recently acknowledged FSU's recruiting has gained momentum. Part of the reason, of course, is that Fisher's ascension to head coach is now imminent.

James Coley, Florida State's tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator, said before the Seminoles' loss at Florida on Nov. 28 that opposing teams often suggested to recruits that Bowden's tenure could be indefinite. Those teams, Coley said, put doubt into recruits' minds about when Fisher would become the head coach or whether he'd be the head coach at all.

Now that doubt doesn't exist.

"There's a lot that's going on in Tallahassee but the guys that are committed, we have an idea of what the future is going to be like with us," said De'Joshua Johnson, a standout receiver at Pahokee High who committed to the Seminoles in July.

Despite his verbal commitment to Florida State, Johnson said other schools - including Alabama and Miami - are continuing to recruit him. Johnson said Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban recently visited him. According to Johnson, Saban said, "Just come play for a national championship every year."

The Seminoles, who will finish the season with at least six losses for the third time in the past four years, are attempting to get back to that level and are offering recruits - like Reid a season ago - an opportunity to be a part of the building process.

Whatever Florida State is telling recruits these days, it seems to be working. In the days after Bowden announced he'll be leaving Florida State, some of the best high school football players in the nation have said they'll be arriving.